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His stark warning comes after it emerged a number of former RAF, Royal Navy and Army pilots had been training the Chinese People\u2019s Liberation Army Air Force.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Defence issued a rare security alert following the revelations last October. Around 30 pilots were understood to have been contracted through a South African company after being offered salaries of around \u00a3250,000.<\/p>\n
The revelation prompted fears that former British pilots were helping the Chinese to understand Western tactics, potentially equipping the People\u2019s Liberation Army with knowledge about shooting down the planes of Britain and its allies.<\/p>\n
The MoD has now said former Armed Forces personnel who train foreign militaries can expect to be prosecuted under new offences within the National Security Act, which became law in July.<\/p>\n
READ MORE <\/strong> King Charles briefed about alleged ‘Chinese spy’ in Westminster<\/strong><\/p>\n Specifically, the act includes an offence of \u201cobtaining or disclosing protected information\u201d and defines \u201cinformation\u201d as including tactics, techniques and procedures.<\/p>\n The MoD said if pilots were suspected of sharing sensitive information with foreign powers it would pass the details to the police to investigate.<\/p>\n Mr Shapps said: \u201cAnyone found to be acting against the UK\u2019s interests by training our competitors\u2019 militaries can now expect to be pursued and brought to justice.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Government has acted decisively following the identification of this threat, and has made rapid changes to legislation to help shut it down.\u201d<\/p>\n The MoD said it believed that the adverse publicity from its security alert was effective in persuading the pilots to reconsider their work and to discourage other former troops from taking part.<\/p>\n Don’t miss… <\/strong> We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n The news comes at a time of heightened concern about Chinese intelligence gathering after it emerged that a parliamentary researcher was arrested for allegedly spying.<\/p>\n In response to a report on China by Parliament\u2019s Intelligence and Security Committee, the Government last week acknowledged that \u201cChinese recruitment schemes have tried to headhunt British and allied nationals in key positions and with sensitive knowledge and experience, including from government, military, industry and wider society\u201d.<\/p>\n The Government insisted that its new legislation would make the UK a \u201charder operating environment for those acting on behalf of foreign powers against the safety or interests of the UK\u201d.<\/p>\n Tom Tugendhat, the security minister, said: \u201cWe face growing threats from foreign states. \u201cIn recent years we\u2019ve seen attempts to harm our people, damage our economy and undermine our democracy.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve also seen attempts from countries such as China to solicit national secrets from former Armed Forces personnel.<\/p>\n \u201cThis new Act provides our world class law enforcement and intelligence agencies with new and updated tools to tackle security challenges such as these \u2013 and hold those responsible to account.\u201d<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/139\/590x\/secondary\/4964041.jpg?r=1694948472657\")
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